Chapter 625 - Martial King (19)

Bam! Bam! Bam! The ground shook with each explosion. Although the noise bombarded her ears and the black flames blinded her eyes…“Ha…ugh…ha…!”

As she propped herself up with Divine Evil, Edora breathed heavily. As one of the top martial artists in her tribe and the daughter of the current Psychic Medium, Edora possessed a vast amount of inner energy in addition to her innate ability to recover quickly. However, the damage that she sustained had accumulated to the point that it was difficult for her to even stand.

“Hey, no matter how hard you try, you know you can’t win, right? Even if you’re close to becoming a divine being, I’m not a pushover myself.”

Hanryeong blocked Laplace’s path. The sight of Hanryeong dancing with his nine swords stuck in various places was both beautiful yet pitiful. Hanryeong was trying with all his might to stop Laplace from reaching the Psychic Medium and Edora. Of course, it was next to impossible for Hanryeong to defeat a king of the Demonic Sea. Hanryeong could only endure to the best of his ability, and even that…

Clang! Every time Hanryeong’s blade collided with Laplace’s divine power, Hanryeong’s sword blade shattered like hard candy. The sense of danger only grew for Hanryeong and those behind him. However, unlike them, Laplace was as relaxed as if he were out for a leisurely walk. Laplace threw his fist out and connected with Hanryeong’s right arm, which instantly crumbled and dissipated into the air.

‘My mother’s eyes… I have to protect them no matter what.’

No one had to ask Laplace or his companions what they wanted in the chaos. It was clear that they wanted to take the Psychic Medium’s Inner Eye. Children born with the qualities of the Psychic Medium like Edora could utilize Insight if they worked hard to develop the ability. Insight was an ability that could deconstruct and clear away any illusions, enabling the user to see the essence of things. The roots of the ability came from Ideas. However, possessing Insight was only one of the qualifications necessary to become a Psychic Medium. Another condition was Spirit Contact.

The Psychic Medium was a shaman who preached and exacted the will of Shaohao Jintian, the creator and guardian god of the One-horned tribe. She had to be able to use the unique communication method known as Spirit Contact to speak to Shaohao Jintian. And as that contact with Shaohao Jintian developed and she continued to carry out Shaohao Jintian’s will, the Spirit Contact would evolve into Divine Contact. Once she attained Divine Contact, she could unleash Shaohao Jintian’s power on his behalf since Shaohao Jintian refrained from appearing in the world.

Once she attained this level, Insight would evolve to become Inner Eye. Through Shaohao Jintian’s protection, she could observe Ideas and peer into all corners of the world. She could even make prophecies and tell fortunes. Thus, Divine Contact was also called the Spirit’s Eye or Divine Eye. Divine Contact was also the reason why even though the One-horned tribe had abandoned their qualifications as a transcendent species, they enjoyed a reputation as the strongest race in the Tower for thousands of years.

Of course, it was not easy to obtain both Divine Contact and Inner Eye. In fact, during the long history of the One-horned tribe, they had more years without a Psychic Medium than with one. Furthermore, even if the tribe was fortunate enough to have a Psychic Medium, the Psychic Medium often had short tenures.

However, the Psychic Medium of this generation was different. She rose to the position around the same time that the Martial King had taken the throne. This confluence of events led to a long period of stability which helped the One-horned tribe establish a firm foundation bolstered by the Head Elder’s leadership and sage counsel.

For a long period of time, the One-horned tribe had the Martial King, one of the most powerful martial artists in the world, and a Psychic Medium who could see into the darkest corners of the world. With those two leading the tribe, how could the tribe fall into trouble?

They also had solid potential successors. Phante had the Martial King’s martial arts and bloodline, and he was already at the level that the Martial King had been at his age. Edora had almost fully evolved her Spirit Contact to Divine Contact. Thus, no one doubted the tribe’s continued success and dominance.

Now, a being had appeared, intent on taking the Inner Eye—Laplace. Once, Laplace had been the Central Bureau’s top administrator, but somehow, Laplace managed the incredible feat of obtaining the role of a player…as a divine being. No one knew exactly how Laplace planned to take the Inner Eye.

The recent attack had temporarily cut off all Channels with Shaohao Jintian after the destruction of the village’s barrier and the large damage that the Spirit Pond sustained. No matter how much Shaohao Jintian supported and welcomed the Psychic Medium, it was not an easy task for the Psychic Medium to constantly exert her powers and observe the world without a break. Therefore, the Psychic Medium rarely left her holy territory or the Spirit Pond. This was also the reason why Yeon-woo had never met the Psychic Medium in person even though they had been acquainted ever since Yeon-woo started visiting the One-horned tribe’s village.

The Psychic Medium was in a state of shock and unable to move due to the destruction of the Spirit Pond. Edora tried to protect her mother, but she could not put up a fight against Laplace with only her Insight, which had not yet developed into the Inner Eye.

‘A little bit…a little bit more…somehow…!’ Still, Edora clenched her teeth. She firmly believed the struggle for the throne would end soon and that Faceless’s plan would stand no chance against her mighty father, the Martial King. If Edora could hold on a little longer, she was sure that the Martial King would arrive, sweep their enemies away, and save her mother. Yeon-woo would be there as well. Before they arrived, Edora saw an opportunity to use the Yang Sword. Thanks to Hanryeong buying her some time, Edora could focus on her recovery, and if she regained a bit more of her energy, Edora felt she could successfully strike Laplace. However…

“E…dora.”

Edora’s heavy breathing stopped at the sound of her mother’s sobbing voice, and she quickly turned to her mother. The Psychic Medium was feeling so much pain in her eyes that tears were dripping through the spaces between her fingers as she covered her eyes with her hands. For a moment, Edora felt her heart sink. Even though the Psychic Medium did not say anything, Edora felt like something was about to burst out of her chest. Edora could not even breathe. For some reason, with a growing sense of urgency, Edora felt that she shouldn’t listen to the words that would come. However…

“Your father…is gone.” The Psychic Medium wiped her face with her hands. The corners of her eyes were moist, and her eyes were unfocused, as though she were staring into the distance. Edora felt that her mother’s eyes looked strange. “Such an awful person. I told him to be careful. Even in the end, he joked around with my words.”

“Mother, what do you mean…!” Edora stopped gathering her energy and looked at her mother.

Bam!

「Ugh!」 At that moment, a tattered Hanryeong landed in front of Edora after a large explosion. Hanryeong tried to prop himself up with his sword, but it shattered into pieces. Hanryeong fell to the ground once more. His limbs were shattered so badly that his body was unrecognizable.

“No, no, no. You shouldn’t do that. Hanryeong, you were a player that I’ve cheered on and supported ever since I was an administrator. Furthermore, you’re a familiar of my benefactor ###, so I continued to play with you. But if you keep getting in my way, there’s nothing else left for me to do but destroy you.” Laplace appeared in front of Hanryeong and wagged his finger while speaking.

Laplace had already transferred the eyes through code hacking. All that was left was the complete deletion of the original data source. After all, what was the point in letting others get a chance to obtain such a wonderful thing? Laplace felt a little sorry for his benefactor Yeon-woo, but he was sure that his actions would benefit Yeon-woo in the future.

「I apologize, but I’m going to have to be a nuisance a little while longer.」

Hanryeong’s words made Laplace instinctively pull back. Boom! Black-red lightning bolts fell from the sky one after another, all aiming at Laplace. Boom! Boom! Boom!Rumble!

“Hmm. I almost got myself into serious trouble.” Laplace smiled awkwardly when he saw that the spot where he’d been was completely destroyed. Cold sweat ran down his cheeks, and his stiff expression clearly showed how tense he was.

Sss. As if it were chasing Laplace, emptiness suddenly opened next to him. Yeon-woo appeared with an expressionless face, swinging Vigrid fiercely. Since Yeon-woo was still united with Vigrid, the force behind his Sword Thunder strike was immense.

Boom! Boom! Boom! With a yelp, Laplace jumped back while activating his powers one after another. The divine power that he scattered all over the area started moving, turning everything around them into a mess. Various bizarre beings appeared, and tentacles started shooting out of random places. Even though he was a player, Laplace also wielded the powers of an otherworld god as one of the kings of the Demonic Sea. Using Illusory Change, Laplace twisted and messed around with the physical laws of the space. However, no matter how many beings and tentacles appeared, they were helpless against Yeon-woo’s overwhelming firepower.

Yeon-woo reached Laplace and rained down a barrage of Sword Thunder strikes immediately. Sixth Extreme!

Boom! Slice! With an overwhelming amount of power, Vigrid cut through Laplace’s neck in an instant. A copper-colored bald head with rabbit ears bounced into the air. Laplace’s torso turned into ash immediately. His head spun up like a top and only stopped once it reached a high point.

Rip! A long, diagonal line formed in the sky above his head, peeling back to create a huge emptiness. In fact, it was much deeper than ordinary emptiness, and there were countless souls flowing in a river and twinkling like starlight. Yeon-woo had been to this place a long time ago: the abyss.

Inside was an unfathomably large dragon as big as the planet-sized Crawling Chaos. The last dragon, Harmonia, showed part of her face. 『Since you’ve already achieved your objective, why don’t you stop fooling around, Laplace?』

Harmonia, the leader of the Sea of Time, exuded an aura and a presence that could not be expressed in words. All beings were completely overwhelmed, their expressions hardening. Her aura was overbearing enough to make everyone collapse onto the ground, but fortunately, everyone regained their composure.

Yeon-woo unleashed a similar force, driving away Harmonia’s aura almost as soon as it arrived and protecting everyone.

“So sad. I finally came across a chance to reconnect with my benefactor and learn more about these eyes, but alas…” Even though he had lost his torso, Laplace’s head spoke very casually.

Harmonia frowned in disapproval and extended her claws to pull Laplace’s head in. The emptiness began to close.

『Son.』

“Yes. Don’t worry. I won’t be arrogant and foolhardy.”

At Kronos’ anxious call, Yeon-woo nodded quietly. Yeon-woo didn’t chase after Harmonia and Laplace as they disappeared into the emptiness. It now became clear that the culprit of all these recent events was the Sea of Time, and he had to check on the relationships of the Demonic Sea, the Bureau, and the Sea of Time.

‘Not now.’ Even though Yeon-woo was seething with anger, he decided not to continue the fight. The Martial King had disappeared, and the Psychic Medium had suffered serious injuries. The One-horned tribe was on the precipice of collapse, and there were many other things for Yeon-woo to deal with first. Many higher gods and creator gods had disappeared, and Allforone was behaving erratically to boot. Yeon-woo intuitively felt that all these seemingly unrelated events were connected to the Sea of Time. They were clearly controlling everything from behind the scenes, and it was inevitable that he would encounter them once more.

『You’ve progressed and developed nicely as a vessel and successor. Very good.』

Whoosh! As if she could read Yeon-woo’s thoughts, Harmonia raised an eyebrow. The emptiness was about to close shut when… “Mom!”

Ananta hurriedly ran forward and shouted. Unlike what she remembered from her childhood, the figure in front of her was immense, but Ananta never forgot her mother’s temperament and aura. Ananta cried out in amazement that her mother was still alive. However, Harmonia showed no signs of surprise, as if she’d known all along that Ananta was present.

『You’ve grown up well. That’s fortunate.』Boom! With a sound like a door slamming shut, the emptiness closed.

Ananta lost her strength and flopped to the ground. Cha Jeong-woo’s spirit suddenly appeared beside her and patted her shoulder.

『So, what do you plan to do now?』 Kronos looked at the scene and asked Yeon-woo. When things were chaotic, one had to quickly decide on one’s priorities.

“We should hold a requiem. But before that…” Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll comfort the dead.”

『How?』

“We’ll punish those who rebelled against us. We will establish a reign of terror so ruthless and great that no one will ever dare to even think of attacking us again.”

His first supreme command was issued to Olympus that day.

『Athena, invade Asgard now. Trample on and destroy everything in their holy territories. Eliminate everyone, even those who surrender. Their holy territory shall become a place where nothing can live, and the name of Asgard shall never rise again. If there are any societies or individuals who sympathize with Asgard, eliminate them.』